


Nothing Serious

by jin_24



Category: Fire Emblem: Fuukasetsugetsu | Fire Emblem: Three Houses
Genre: Alternate Universe - College/University, Eventual Smut, F/F, Fluff, Humor, Online Friendship, Online Romance, Pining, Roommates, Sharing a Bed, also its Fall, html dependent so keep creator's style on pls
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-09-17
Updated: 2019-09-24
Packaged: 2020-10-20 00:14:14
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 2
Words: 11,575
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20666135
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/jin_24/pseuds/jin_24
Summary: Marianne gets an annoying roommate. At least her online friend urpinkwetdream is there to complain about her with. Aka the Golden deer girls college au no one asked for!





	1. Part 1

**Author's Note:**

> a playlist for this fic can be found [here ](https://open.spotify.com/playlist/3qy12yUlFh21D80VOONvrz)!! Beta'd by the lovely [Ahri ](https://archiveofourown.org/users/koalahugs/pseuds/koalahugs)💖

When Marianne decided to look for a roommate off-campus, this was not the situation she had in mind. At the very least, she would talk to her housemates occasionally, and ideally they would respect some system of rules. Marianne couldn't get too picky, though. She was too broke to limit her options. 

What she ended up with was a two bedroom apartment she shared with three other girls. Lysithea and Leonie ended up bunking together since they hit it off pretty early on. The third girl didn't even show up until later that evening, when everyone else was already moved in. Marianne wishes that was the most inconsiderate thing her new roommate did that day. Marianne tried not to be bothered by most things, but this girl really tested her patience.

When Hilda arrives it's hard to miss. It’s eleven at night and she scrambles into the door carrying three large bags. She huffs loudly as if she’s seeking the attention of everyone in the house when she drops them and closes the door behind her. In the process, her phone falls to the floor from her skirt pocket with a clatter and she whines, “Aww, shit. Please don't be broken.” 

Hilda retrieves her phone from the floor and is happy to note minimal damage to her screen, throwing her long pink hair over her shoulder as she leans back up. It's at this point that she notices Marianne staring at her from the kitchen where she was stirring dollar store macaroni in a pan until all the noise started. Hilda’s eyes widen and she rushes over. “Oh, hi!!” 

Marianne freezes as she feels herself being pulled into the plush material of the shorter girl's pink faux fur coat as she's forced into a hug. “I'm Hilda!” She says as she pulls back, and Marianne feels like Hilda’s eau de parfum is now coating her own clothes as well.

“And you are?” Hilda asks when Marianne just stares at her, though Hilda probably wouldn't have noticed her discomfort if it landed on her face. 

“Marianne,” she says softly. “Nice to meet you.”

“Ooooh, your name, I like it. It’s so…” Hilda snaps her fingers as she tries to think of the words. “So, 1800’s noblesse. In a good way, of course.”

“Thanks…” Marianne says it like a question as her eyebrows pull together. Hilda doesn't even notice, as she's now staring at her phone screen, scrolling and tapping rhythmically.

Marianne pries her eyes away from the girl’s face and clicks off the stove, moving the pan to a folded dish rag on the counter as Hilda starts typing a message impossibly fast on her phone. She laughs out loud suddenly and the sound almost makes Marianne throw her plate of noodles in the air.

Marianne goes to grab another plate and sets in on the counter, looking over her shoulder at Hilda before she asks quietly, “Do you… want some?”

Hilda looks up and beams at Marianne, shoving her phone back into her pocket with a click as her lockscreen replaces her messenger app. Funny. Marianne uses the same one. 

“Yes, please!” Hilda grins and holds out a hand expectantly. Marianne hands her the plate she already filled while forcing back a small smile. She thinks Hilda must see it anyway because her smile widens.

When they finish eating, Marianne moves to take their dishes to the sink and wash them, since Hilda makes no motion to do so. With a sigh, Marianne finishes up and walks back into the entryway to see Hilda going to grab her bags which she knows is going to be a struggle getting up the stairs since she made that trip this morning.

“Oh, let me help you,” Marianne offers, trying to make herself be polite for the second time that night.

“Well, if you insist!” Hilda cheers, and doesn't even hesitate to drop her burden onto the blue-haired girl. Marianne raises a brow as Hilda steps aside to let her take the suitcases. Marianne goes to lift the handles in each hand and her eyes widen. How the hell this girl walked into this place carrying these is beyond her. Somehow Marianne hikes them up over her arms and leads the way upstairs to their room.

When they make it into the doorway Marianne drops the bags immediately and digs her palms into her lower back, making small noises of complaint. 

“Thank you, Marianne. You're the best!” Hilda's face gleams while Marianne is still suffering from what might as well be a broken back. 

Marianne is still looking at Hilda’s face, which is slowly becoming a bad habit, when she sees Hilda’s expression falter. Hilda is staring at what appears to be nothing in particular. Really, it's just a partially empty space in the room. Marianne follows her gaze and looks back at Hilda’s face in confusion. 

“What is it?” Marianne caves and finally asks.

“Uhhh, I kinda have my brother coming tomorrow with all my stuff,” Hilda says, her voice oddly laced with discomfort. Marianne looks at the large suitcases at their feet and back up at Hilda. How much more could there be? 

“What's the problem then?”

Hilda looks at her eyes finally. “I don't have a bed.”

Oh.

Marianne knows shes gonna regret this somehow but she doesn't stop herself, and manages not to slap herself in the face when the words come out. “I guess we can share mine for now.”

Marianne is starting to realize that if you gave Hilda an inch she would take a mile. Not only did she immediately accept Marianne's suggestion to open her bed, she was now taking up all the room. Marianne is forced to scoot into the wall in hopes that she could get some elbow room, but as expected, Hilda unconsciously shifts into that space too. 

Speaking of her elbow, Marianne thinks that one of Hilda's boobs was pressed against hers, if the warmth enveloping her was any indicator. Marianne looks down at her side and in the dim light coming from across the hall where a light was carelessly left on, she can see Hilda illuminated in it. Her eyes follow along the dip of her chest before she can stop herself. Marianne snaps her head away the next moment and decides to flip over to face the wall even if it disturbs the other’s sleep. It doesn’t, but that doesn't ease the tension in Marianne's body by any bit.

She remembers that her phone buzzed way earlier, around the time that Hilda and her baggage arrived, and grabs it from her nightstand.

how was your day??? i forgot to mssg you, busy day wahhhhhh 💀 

Marianne smiles to herself and thinks shortly about what she should type back.

i cant sleep……………. kill me 

for some context: i have a new roommate and it sucks already 

  
An hour passes and she doesn’t get a reply so she assumes urpinkwetdream is asleep, wherever in the world she may be. The last thing she remembers is tucking her phone under her pillow before forcibly shutting her eyes to will herself to sleep.

“Marianne…”

“Marianne.”

“Marianne!!!!!”

The last call is punctuated by a shove to her shoulder which rouses Marianne out of her sleep. “Why the fuck are you so loud…” Marianne mumbles in her whisper-soft voice.

“Hey! Did you just curse at me??” Hilda bumps her in the arm annoyingly, which makes Marianne sink further back into her blankets. “Okay, that's not the point. Marianne! What is that?”

Hilda peeks down at her legs and Marianne shifts up on her elbows to look. At the bottom of the bed is a large lump of grey, and she frowns before giving Hilda an annoyed stare. “I didn’t think I’d have to say this, but that’s a cat, obviously.”

“Yeah, okay, genius!!! And where did it come from?????”

“That’s Dorte. He’s _my_ cat.”

Hilda exhales and leans back into the pillow. “Okay, good. I’ve seen those stories where cats sneak into people’s homes, and he looks kinda scraggly, no offense. I thought it was a stray or something.” Hilda blinks as Marianne gives her the strongest look of disdain she can manage. “Why didn’t you tell me you had a cat?”

She’s right, Marianne realizes that she didn’t get a chance to mention it to the girl she’d be sharing a room with. She supposes that’s a pretty important detail and feels a bit guilty. “I’m sorry Hilda, I guess I forgot.” Marianne yawns and brushes her bangs down from where they were sticking up toward the ceiling. “He seems to like you though… he never does this.”

Hilda seems to like the thought that she has a new admirer and sits up to get a proper look at him. “You know what, he’s actually kind of cute! Look at these ear—oww!!” 

Hilda reaches out to touch Dorte’s head and is immediately swiped at by an outstretched paw, before he hops up to stretch his legs. He leaps to the floor and disappears under the bed while Hilda whines pathetically. 

“Yeah, he… doesn’t like that,” Marianne says.

“Thanks for the warning.” Hilda pouts, holding a hand over her fingers that have a few small lines running across them, quickly turning a harsh red. 

“Sorry…” Marianne genuinely feels bad but hides a small smile behind her hand. Hilda looks impossibly small and Marianne stares for a little too long. "Uh, I'm gonna go take a shower, I have work soon."

Hilda nods and sits up to stretch while Marianne shuffles out of the room in her fuzzy slippers. "Cute," Hilda says absently as she watches Marianne’s depart. She yawns before grabbing her phone from the nightstand and checking her new messages. She laughs a sharp and resounding “HA!” and taps out a message back at what Marianne would consider the speed of light.

i’m sorry you couldn’t sleep!!! hopefully you have a good day to make up for it!!! you should get yourself a drink as a pick me up!! 😘 

Also I hope you're eating well!!!! 

True to what she says, Marianne is gone for most of the day at work. Around two, Hilda gets her daily call from her brother, and it’s to tell her she won’t have the rest of her stuff until the end of the week. Something happened to their dad and Holst was flying out to visit him immediately, Hilda’s concern for their father being the only thing that can calm her down after the news.

Before Marianne gets home, Hilda makes sure she’s out of the house, because she doesn’t know how to bring up the news, but she’s hoping Marianne isn’t too bothered sharing her space for another couple of days. She didn't imagine she’d have to get _that_ close to her roommate so fast, but what could she do.

Hilda decides to pick up some make-up products, since her brother wouldn’t be coming through, and a week was way too long without beauty. She makes it back home fairly late and hopes that’s enough time for Marianne to be sleeping. Marianne isn’t downstairs when she arrives, so she hopes that’s a good sign. 

“Hey!” Hilda almost jumps up when Leonie calls out to her from the couch. It’s dark and there’s a mound of blankets burying their forms, so she assumes Leonie and Lysithea are having some kind of marathon. “Wanna watch scary movies with us? Lys agreed to watch them for once, so this is probably your only chance to see her like this.”

“Who am I to turn down something so awesome!” Hilda says, sitting on the other side of Lysithea, who scoots and offers her some blankets. “I’m sorry I haven’t been in much. I’m Hilda! Lysithea and Leonie, right?” She points at the two as she says their names and Leonie nods to indicate she’d guessed correctly. 

“Yeah, do you always get home this late?” Lysithea asks, her voice dripping with judgment and Leonie nudges her.

“No! I just had a couple of things to do…” Hilda doesn’t share that she was sort of hiding out from Marianne for the majority of the day. Speaking of her, Hilda starts to wonder why she wasn’t with them. “Where’s Marianne?”

“Oh, we invited her, but she doesn’t really hang out with us. Kinda seems like she prefers to be alone.”

“Really?” Hilda suspects they were right. She recalls how Marianne had only talked to her in short sentences, always one-dimensional and about their living situation, which wasn’t exactly unprompted conversation. Hilda didn’t know much more about her roommate other than Dorte.

“I’ll let you know when I don’t have to force five words out of her,” Leonie muses and unpauses the movie. Now Hilda is extra nervous about having to impose on Marianne again. What if she starts to hate her? What if she already does?

Hilda is surprised when three hours pass by and is only reminded that she’s in the presence of people when Lysithea reaches out and grabs her arm during a jump scare, to which she mumbles an apology and retracts her hand in favor of holding them over her eyes. Hilda shakes her head absently and tries to shove down lingering thoughts about a certain blue-haired, supposed recluse. 

When Hilda finally drags her aching legs up the stairs and stumbles into pajama shorts and a tank, Marianne is a lump under her bedspread. _That makes this easier_, Hilda thinks, as she inches toward Marianne’s bed. She lifts up the blanket to crawl in next to her roommate, and is met with a raspy voice ringing in the dark.

“Hilda. What are you doing…”

Hilda jolts in surprise, dropping down to the floor beside Marianne’s bed and curling inward like an apologetic ball. “I’m sorry Marianne… I kinda... don’t have my bed yet.”

“Yeah, clearly.” Marianne turns and looks at her side of the room pointedly. “When I said I’d share my bed, I assumed that yours was on the way.”

Hilda lifts her head. “Yeah, my brother had something important to do. I already called and cursed him out, but there’s nothing he can do...” She worries her lip between her teeth and Marianne’s eyes follow the movement. “Sorry, Mari… would you mind sharing again? Please?” Hilda puts on a cute face, lip pouting outward and all, and Marianne cracks. She’d never planned to deny her anyway, and she wants Hilda to just stop looking at her like that already.

“Fine.”

Marianne scoots to the wall and faces it as she gets comfortable. She appears standoffish and upset, but Hilda was never one to hold back so she didn’t want to start now. Hilda slides into the vacant spot under the comforter and reaches over to give Marianne a small squeeze of a hug as thanks, then flips over and settles in next to her. Marianne intentionally huffs loudly for Hilda to hear.

“Marianne.” 

Hilda’s heart pounds inexplicably while she waits for a reply, and she wishes it wouldn’t do that without her permission.

“Yeah?”

“My brother said he isn’t gonna be able to get my things to me until next week.” Hilda squeezes her eyes shut in anticipation of an angry outburst, but it doesn’t come. 

Marianne grips the blanket in her fists and winces. Her voice comes out evenly despite her conflicting feelings about the situation. “Okay, I'm convinced you don't even have a brother at this point.”

“I do, I do, I swear.” Hilda can’t help it as her voice slurs, like she’s nearly asleep. It takes her a couple seconds before she continues. “Just bear with me, for a little bit longer.”

Marianne doesn’t say anything as her heart drums, so loud she thinks it must be audible. She’s not sure how much longer she could take it.  


* * *

  
Holst actually shows up after the third night, and Hilda shoots Marianne a look and points to him as proof that she isn’t a liar. Marianne scoffs and goes to the kitchen while they’re busy bringing in Hilda’s things. Which is really just Holst carrying everything up, until he needs Hilda to grab the other end of the bed to lead it up the stairs, Hilda wailing in complaint the entire time.

finally gonna get some peace... 

Marianne’s phone vibrates against the kitchen table when she gets a response a couple minutes later.

??? 

An explanation probably wouldn’t even be believable, but she types it anyway as a reply.

Hilda is exhausted and collapses on her bed after she and Holst set it down on her side of the room, curling up without the bed sheets even on it yet because she was just that tired. Her phone buzzes in her pocket and she sends a few question marks back to xxPonyGirlxx’s cryptic message. The reply comes in quickly and she slides her lockscreen open to stare at the screen.

kinda weird but i had to share my bed with my roommate bc she didnt have hers 

Hilda looks down at her bed and then across at room at Marianne’s. Okay, that’s a really weird and specific coincidence. She wants to reply and mention the parallels, but something stops her. Instead she sends a line of praise emojis and keeps all other information to herself.  


* * *

  
Hilda is now very sure that something is eerie about xxPonyGirlxx, or there’s one other explanation, but she's nervous about testing it. Hilda thinks it's going to be one hundred percent exactly what she expects, and she's not sure what to do with that information.

On top of the oddly psychic twin situation she happens to share, Marianne is actually really similar to her online friend. They at least both know a lot about cats and hardly sleep. They've never shared pictures with each other, but Hilda thinks that might be something that happens very soon. 

Hilda types out a message before she can talk herself out of it and holds her phone to her chest, hyper aware of the sound of movement from upstairs where she knows Marianne is, in their room.

Her phone buzzes in her hands and when she holds it up she nearly screams. There's a picture attachment, and she shouldn't be surprised by that reply because Hilda's message was _Can I see your cat aha _

When she taps on the attachment, it’s a picture of him—Dorte—on her screen and Hilda’s brain feels like it breaks.

* * *

  


Hilda hasn’t mentioned what she knows to Marianne, but she’s noticing more about her. Hilda’s unusually curious about Marianne, watching the way she eats silently and frustratingly slow. How she tries to be quiet at night when she can’t sleep, holding her phone close to her face and sending messages that go directly to Hilda’s phone. Hilda has taken to putting her phone on silent so Marianne doesn’t suspect anything. Sometimes she’ll respond and look at Marianne for a reaction. She’s heard Marianne's little airy chuckles on occasion and they send a rush to her heart. 

Marianne talks more over her messages, like she's a completely different girl with urpinkwetdream. Like she’s somehow more familiar with her online friend than her own roommate. Which is probably true, but it makes Hilda strangely jealous of the version of her that actually gets attention from Marianne, something she thought she’d never have to experience. Hilda can admit, though not out loud, that she has feelings for Marianne. She’s not sure when or how, if it was the cute texts or Marianne’s icy stares reserved for Hilda, but Marianne is all she thinks about anymore.

She tries to start conversations with Marianne but it seems like now that she has her own bed there’s no reason to communicate. Talking with Marianne usually goes like:

“Hey Marianne! What’cha doing today?” 

“Class.”

When she talks to xxPonyGirlxx however, she tends to learn a lot more. On days where Marianne just has “class”, she’ll tell every detail.

i have this project and its so fucking irritating. why dont professors see that group projects are bullshit? 

ill be in the library wanting to die so pls remind me to eat something in a couple of hours 😭 

here, take all my hugs and unconditional support💗💕💞💝💘 

a hug from you sounds really nice actually 😍 

From… you? Hilda can't be sure, but that kind of sounds like flirting. Hilda almost dismisses it but it keeps happening way too often and Hilda's sure that Marianne had to know what heart eyes mean. But she wouldn't send them, unless...

Hilda decides to test her theory, and starts sending openly flirty texts and she’s sure she just sounds like an idiot, but Marianne sends them back with equal sauciness and she nearly hyperventilates every time. Once she jokingly asks if she could drink Marianne's bathwater and Marianne says _yeah, just give me an address. _She hears Marianne giggle from her side of the room and she’s close to losing it. 

Hilda knows she should have probably just run upstairs and told Marianne right away when she figured it out, but a small part of her says that would have made Marianne just pull back and treat her like Hilda, both online and off. Hilda realizes that she enjoys having it both ways. She gets good morning texts and flirty updates, and also has the benefit of seeing Marianne’s face every day. 

It’s a dark thought that Hilda wishes she never brought into existence, but maybe she could use urpinkwetdream to get closer to Marianne as Hilda. Would she eventually even need her online persona anymore? Something about the thought feels very dangerous, but Hilda doesn’t argue with herself over it. It’s going to work, Hilda tells herself.  


* * *

  
The next day Hilda gets a text that threatens to tear down her entire plan. She’s in class so she checks her phone discreetly under the table.  


Can i tell you something? like dont think its weird 

i mean you can think its weird, im just hoping that you don’t. 

  
What does that mean? This is odd, even for Marianne. Hilda thinks of a reply and sets her phone down onto her notebook, unlocked.  


i guess just shoot? ill do my best to be understanding, no matter what. 

  
A few minutes later she gets another message.  


okay… i like you. i dont know why im saying that, im pretty much an internet stranger to you but it's the truth 

  
Hilda panics. She throws her phone into her bag and doesn’t fish it out until after class, and she still doesn’t know what to say. On one hand, this is exactly what she wanted. She has to admit that she really was starting to crush on Marianne. But the message wasn’t for Hilda, exactly, at least in Marianne’s mind, otherwise it would be Hilda she was talking to and not urpinkwetdream. A girl that Marianne didn’t even know truly existed, at least as she perceives.

Hilda makes up her mind as she gets to the front door to their place.  


dont feel weird. But im actually kind of seeing someone… i mean its nothing serious 

  
She slaps herself in the head after she sends the message. Why would she say something like that? You’re either taken or not, stupid. Hilda hopes that Marianne gets the idea, but isn’t too sad. She couldn’t look into her eyes normally ever again if she hurt Marianne’s feelings, even if it wasn’t really her. That was the complete _opposite_ of what she wanted.

When she walks in the house, she sees Marianne heading upstairs. “Hey!” Hilda shouts impulsively, hoping to gauge her reaction to her message, or at least figure out if Marianne has seen it. Marianne turns and Hilda can see a large tub of chocolate ice cream tucked under her arm. She has a feeling Marianne isn’t taking it that well. “What’s that for?”

“Not sure. To cure depression, maybe?”

Hilda gnaws on her lip guiltily. “Got room for one more?” She asks tentatively, expecting to be flat out rejected as Marianne probably wanted to be alone, especially in such a vulnerable state. Marianne seems to genuinely consider it and nods, much to Hilda’s surprise. 

“Oh! I-I mean cool!” Hilda shuffles up the stairs to catch up as Marianne continues up to their room. “Sorry, I just didn’t expect you to say yes.”

Marianne stops in the hallway and gives Hilda a hard stare. “And why is that?” 

Hilda’s eyes widen and Marianne’s expression turns expectant. Does she want her to tell her the truth? “Uh...well… You know...”

To Hilda’s surprise, Marianne cracks a smile. “I know. I’m not the _friendliest_ person. I was just messing with you.” 

Hilda is frozen in place and its not until Marianne takes a seat on the floor in front of the tv and calls her over that she finally follows. Hilda drops down next to her and the chill from the laminate floor seeps through her joggers. She's not sure if it's the cold or Marianne's impossibly soft skin that brushes hers when she shifts to lean back onto her hand, but it sends a shiver through Hilda and goosebumps rise on her exposed stomach which she hopes isn't noticeable. Hilda isn't saying much, for once. Marianne frowns. She'd hoped for a distraction yet, here she was pulling her phone out of her pocket and staring at the same message on her screen.

Hilda peeks over and wishes she hadn't, but Marianne catches her looking. Hilda thinks it'd be rude to just ignore Marianne's sighs and mopey disposition. Holding back a pained groan, she asks, “Are you okay?”

Marianne lets out another breath. “I will be... I hope so.”

It’s so like Marianne to be so vague but Hilda is almost thankful for it now. She knows Marianne must really be bothered if she was revealing this much, in person at least. She has to be in pain, and it’s Hilda’s fault. Hilda’s screaming at herself in her head but she inches closer, her hand hovering over Marianne’s. Hilda’s hand closes over Marianne’s and it’s still cold from holding the ice cream but it’s everything Hilda wants right now. Marianne meets her gaze and Hilda hopes she doesn’t look too emotional when she says, “I know you will be.”

Marianne’s eyes stay locked on Hilda’s and she’s not sure what she sees. It’s not the first time she’s stared at Hilda, though now it seems appropriate. It is the first time that Hilda is looking back at her and her expression is genuine and vulnerable, her eyes almost glossy. She actually feels bad. 

“Thank you, Hilda.” She means it, and against her better judgment she adds, “I think I was too quick to judge you.” Marianne squeezes Hilda’s hand back and smiles, before pulling it away to pick up the remote because there has to be a Halloween marathon on one of these channels. 

Hilda blinks, still staring between her hand that can still feel Marianne’s and the tiny grin on Marianne’s face. “Hey, what does that mean?”

“Just that I didn’t think you actually cared.” Marianne admits as she flips between channels. She spares a glance at Hilda and she looks like she’s about to explode, cheeks puffed up and flushed scarlet.

“Wow, that actually hurts, Marianne,—Ooh! Halloweentown!!—Like, I’m such a good friend.” Marianne stops on the channel, finally letting out a laugh as Hilda uses her whiniest voice. She should probably take Hilda more seriously but it feels good to actually smile. This only serves to irritate Hilda even more and she crawls over to smack Marianne with both hands anywhere she could reach.

“Okay, okay! I’m sorry!” Marianne keeps an arm raised to block Hilda’s attacks. The apology seems to calm her down and Hilda sits back on her feet, huffing as she crosses her arms. The two catch their breath in silence before Marianne speaks again. “I know you are. I’m starting to see that.”

If Hilda wasn’t already red, her blush would have made her face the color of a tomato. “Thank you,” she says snidely. Secretly, she’s very happy to see the smile on Marianne’s face, and directed at her of all people. And now Marianne thinks of her as a friend? Hilda expected Marianne to close off or speak with her usual brashness, but this was an extremely pleasant surprise. And in the back of her mind she thinks, maybe, just maybe, she could get Marianne to see that Hilda was every bit of the girl she likes, too.

Later that night when Marianne otherwise looks like a sleeping form on her side of the room, Hilda finally gets a message.  


sorry for the late reply! i was with a friend 

  
She can almost hear the sassy lilt of Marianne’s voice as she reads it, and Hilda smirks, holding the phone to her chest. 


	2. Part 2

“Hilda?”

Hilda knows this looks really cheesy, and truly, she tried to talk herself out of it. But here she is standing outside Marianne’s eight am class holding two lattes as the wind has its way with her morning hair, pulled up in a messy bun. 

“Surprise! You said you’d never tried one and I simply had to change that.” Hilda grins as she places the disposable cup into Marianne’s tentative grip. “Plus you looked so tired this morning, I thought you needed it. Am I right?”

Marianne takes a sip and her lips pull back into a froth-coated smile. “You are.”

Hilda’s having a hard time looking away from Marianne’s mouth, and only breaks her gaze when Marianne turns to lead the two back to their apartment. “You don’t have any classes today, right?”

“Nope!”

“And this was my only one today…” Marianne trails, pulling a lip between her teeth which finally clears the foam. Hilda is unsure if she’s thankful or distraught about it as she watches the movement. “You wanna go somewhere?”

Hilda takes a second to process that Marianne asked her a question. “Uh, sure! What do you want to do?” Hilda’s heart pounds in anticipation. _It’s not a date_, she tells the part of herself that’s already getting too excited. 

Marianne is hesitant, her eyes apologetic before she answers. “I kinda wanted to try these crepes… it’s kind of a long ride though.”

“That’s fine, Mari,” Hilda smiles when Marianne turns to her in surprise. “I’m not busy.”

Marianne visibly brightens and she grabs Hilda’s arm, pulling her in the opposite direction. “Uh, what are we doing?” Hilda almost loses her balance and stumbles after Marianne.

“Bus is this way, silly.”

“W-wait, we’re going right now? Have you seen my hair?” Hilda pouts and attempts to tuck her flyaway hairs behind her ears. She doesn’t miss that Marianne’s hand was still holding her left arm, and Hilda keeps it as still as possible in her grip. They stop at the campus bus stop and Hilda is pouting when Marianne turns to her. 

“Hilda, please. You always look amazing.” Marianne’s face tints brightly before she realizes the words come out of her mouth. She looks down, noticing that she’s still touching Hilda and lets go, in favor of pulling her hands toward her chest self-consciously. “But you don’t need me to tell you that,” she adds.

Hilda’s mouth instinctively drops open and she snaps it shut, looking away as the bus approaches. They board and Marianne’s comment leaves a strange feeling in the air, something Hilda has no idea how to dispel. Marianne picks a seat at the back and Hilda follows, sliding into the one next to her. She curses the seats for being crammed together so closely, because now she smells Marianne and notices every shift in her legs. Hilda brings her coffee to her lips to distract herself. 

The ride passes in near silence and Marianne was right, it did take a while. When they get to their stop Marianne nudges Hilda and looks at her expectantly. “This is us,” Marianne elaborates, and Hilda clambers to get out of the seat with Marianne following right behind her. 

They throw away their cups at the stop and walk up to the mall’s entrance. Marianne stops to look at the directory and Hilda chuckles to herself. Hilda usually walked into places until she found what she was looking for, but it was cute to see Marianne do it correctly. “Okay it’s in the mall here… oh! Okay, I know exactly where that is.” Marianne leads Hilda through the mall and up some stairs before she catches sight of their destination. 

It’s at this point that Marianne notices Hilda is being unusually quiet. “Hey,” Marianne bumps Hilda with her arm playfully and she looks over in surprise. “Sweet or savory?”

That seems to snap Hilda out of it because she makes a face of disgust. “Sweet, of course. Who gets a _savory_ crepe?”

Marianne laughs, opening the door to let Hilda walk ahead of her. “Some people do? It sounds like a good breakfast food.”

“Gross.” Hilda makes a gagging motion and stops in the line to look up at the selection. Her thoughts linger on a particular ice cream flavor as she decides what to order. When Hilda finishes paying, she saves a table for the two while Marianne’s order is being made. 

Marianne smiles when she sits down across from Hilda. “Cotton candy, eh?”

Hilda blushes and hopes that Marianne doesn’t notice the familiar color palette that now decorates her crepe in an interesting swirl of pink and blue. “Yeah, I was kinda curious about the flavor.”

Marianne studies her face before ripping off a corner of Hilda’s dessert. She stuffs it into her mouth triumphantly before Hilda has a chance to complain. “The flavor seems okay to me,” Marianne mumbles over her bites.

Hilda’s protests die on her lips. She concentrates instead on not exploding right then and there. 

When they finish eating, Hilda is about to suggest they go back to buy some really cute shirts she saw on the way over when she notices Marianne’s face is pensive and she’s staring off in that way she usually does. “What’s up?” Hilda asks. 

Marianne blinks and meets her gaze, smiling sheepishly. “Do you mind if I drag you to one more thing?”

Hilda sighs. “Marianne, you have to stop saying things like that.”

“Like what?”

“Like you have anything to apologize for.” Hilda puts a hand on Marianne’s shoulder and levels her gaze. “I want to be here, don’t worry,” Hilda assures her. 

Marianne looks at Hilda for a moment, studying her, when she starts to step closer. Hilda takes a step back and stares in confusion as Marianne’s hand raises up along the outside of Hilda’s arm. Marianne puts a bill in the slot next to her and Hilda finally looks over her shoulder at the photobooth behind her. 

“Oh.” Hilda lets out a breath she didn’t know she was holding and fidgets with her hands. That was a close one. 

“Get in,” Marianne says when she’s done paying. Hilda does, holding back the curtain for Marianne as she scoots in. 

Marianne studies the various buttons that control the camera filters. “I uh… always wanted to do this kind of thing as a kid.” Marianne scrolls through the settings and settles on the one with a flowery frame and the default camera lens. The screen indicates that they have three pictures that will automatically capture after a countdown.

“Oh, really?” Hilda is genuinely surprised. She hadn’t taken pictures in a booth in a long time, it was actually the kind of thing you did when you were young and with a group of friends. Or… with your significant other. Hilda waves away the implication in her mind and turns to Marianne who still has a serious look on her face.

“Marianne. You’re supposed to pose.” Hilda frowns when Marianne forces a weak smile. 

“Okay, pose one.” Hilda holds her arms above her head like fake antlers and Marianne mimics the motion. “And make a silly face!” The countdown on the screen reaches zero then clicks, and Hilda drops her hands.

“Okay! Now a cute one… oh! Kissy face!” Marianne watches Hilda scrunch up her face and copies, doing her best to pucker for the camera whilst feeling ridiculous. She laughs when Hilda yells at her to stop moving, keeping her eyes closed. Marianne closes one eye and winks for the photo when she finally stops her giggles.

The flash goes off and Hilda opens her eyes and moves her hand behind Marianne’s head. “Okay, now put your hand behind my head and hold up your fingers like this.” 

“Okay…” Marianne copies her motions, holding two fingers up with the rest closed into a semi-fist, lifting them up beside Hilda’s head like instructed. Hilda grins and turns to face the camera before the countdown ends. When the shutter goes off Hilda looks back at Marianne and suddenly notices their proximity. Marianne’s leaning into Hilda with her arm outstretched behind her and Hilda feels vulnerable, trapped against the wall of the small space. 

When Marianne pulls her hand away from Hilda, Marianne’s fingertips graze Hilda’s neck clumsily, her fingers catching in the small hairs spilling out of her bun as her hand drops. Hilda shivers slightly, frozen to her spot. Marianne doesn’t even notice, sliding out of the booth to collect their photos when the screen announces they were printing. 

Marianne pops her head back in the booth. “Hilda.”

“Y-yeah.”

“You can get out now.”

“Oh! Right, I knew that!” Hilda scoots out and when her feet land on the linoleum she's surprised that her legs can keep her upright in that moment.

Marianne tears the photo along the perforated line and hands one half of the pictures to Hilda. “Here.”

_They’re cute_, Hilda almosts wants to squeal out loud as she looks at Marianne’s poses. Marianne’s actually showing a lot of emotion for once, and Hilda is pleased that Marianne’s smile is now permanent and hers to keep. She slides the row of photos into her pocket and grins at Marianne. “Thanks. I love it.”

This time, it’s Hilda that grabs Marianne’s arm and pulls her in the opposite direction. They get the shirts after all.  
  


* * *

“When did you two get so close?" Leonie asks over breakfast a week later. 

Marianne wonders the same thing as she watches Hilda prance around in their matching band shirt around the house, and climb into Marianne’s lap while she watches tv like some kind of giant noisy cat. But then again, that just seems like Hilda’s typical personality.

Somewhere along the way, Marianne had already admitted that it was actually pretty hard to hate Hilda, despite Marianne’s initial frustration with her pink-haired housemate. But close? She couldn’t say if that were the case.

“Do we seem close? I really don’t know.” Leonie shoots her a look of disbelief.

“Well, I mean, Hilda doesn’t do any of that for me.” Lysithea places her mug of cocoa at the table and settles into the seat next to them. “Like, she always does what you ask. Remember when I told you to tell Hilda it was her turn to clean the bathroom?” Marianne nods slowly, unsure where this was going. “It was a test. Whenever _I_ ask her, she makes an excuse or says she’ll get to it and she never does, and I end up doing it. But for you? Consider it done.”

“Yeah, right.” Marianne forces a laugh that dies when she sees the look on Leonie’s face. 

“I’m telling you, she treats you special.” Leonie says pointedly and she and Lysithea look away when Hilda comes wandering into the kitchen.

“Oh! Good morning, Marianne!” Hilda smiles at Marianne and doesn’t spare a glance in the pair’s direction before skipping to the fridge to make herself something to eat. Marianne looks between Leonie and Lysithea in disbelief. Leonie hides a smile under her hand with Hilda behind her back, and Lysithea nearly chokes on her drink as she holds in her laughter.

Everyone happens to be sprawled out doing homework in the living room later when Leonie suddenly makes an announcement. “So, it turns out that Lysithea lost a bet. And that means—”

“Leonie, please no,” Lysithea whines from her spot on the couch.

“—we're going to a haunted house!”

Lysithea groans and covers her face with a throw pillow. “Please tell her you're not interested, for the love of god,” she mumbles with the pillow still pressed to her face.

Hilda looks over at Marianne. She’s still scrawling in her notebook and Hilda almost thinks she didn't hear Leonie until she finally speaks. “That actually sounds like a lot of fun, Leonie.” 

Hilda’s face lights up and she slams her textbook closed. “A break from this exciting stuff? You don’t have to tell me twice.”

“Alright!!” Leonie cheers.

They all pile into Leonie’s jeep and Hilda and Marianne end up in the backseat. Lysithea keeps the front seat window rolled all the way down because it “helps to calm her nerves.” Hilda groans in complaint while her hair flies all around in the car. 

When they get their tickets, they find out there’s four different haunted houses and a corn maze. Lysithea hurriedly suggests the corn maze first because it shouldn’t be _that_ scary. No one has any opposition so that’s where they end up first. 

The maze is surprisingly large so there’s enough room for all four of them to walk beside each other. After some laughter and a few twists and turns, Hilda speaks. “Hey, you said that Lysithea lost a bet right? What was the bet?”

Lysithea’s eyes shift to Marianne before she answers. “Uh…”

“It was about chores!” Leonie interrupts. Marianne squints at the two disapprovingly. Luckily Hilda lets it go, in favor of picking up a small pumpkin that was decorating the straw wall of the maze. 

“Okay, this is too cute! Mari, take a picture of me holding this tiny pumpkin!” Hilda gushes, holding the pumpkin in question to her cheek. 

“Hilda, it's way too dark.”

“That's what the flash is for!” Hilda retorts.

With an apologetic wave of her hands, Marianne finds the flash button and turns it on. She hears Leonie mumble “lovers quarrel” as she clicks the button and captures the picture. Marianne frowns at Leonie as she hands Hilda her phone back.

Hilda looks between the two in confusion. "Did I miss something?"

“No, nothing special,” Marianne says, offering her a reassuring smile. She sends Leonie a warning glance when Hilda shrugs and turns away. They make it to the end of the maze quickly enough and to Lysithea’s displeasure, Leonie leads them to the next display over, on a dark path covered in fake webbing, black roses, and artificial red candlelights. 

The first haunted house is vampire themed, they discover when they reach the Victorian-esque railing leading to the walkthrough. Its typical, cheesy, and no one takes it seriously except Lysithea who rushes them through blindly. Marianne and Leonie stick to her side to make sure she doesn’t stumble as she sprints with hands covering her eyes. Hilda follows close behind, yelling “sorry!” at the performers who don’t even get a second to remain in character.

The next house is an abandoned looking shed, and inside are what look like hanging animal entrails arranged in a path so you had to push them aside to pass through. Occasionally a performer slips through the plastic strip door material that makes it feel like an actual butchery facility, complete with fake blood splatters. 

When they turn a corner, a giant axe drops from a spring loaded automated platform as a laugh sounds on a track from somewhere in the room. That one caught Marianne off guard and she takes a step back, bumping into Hilda. The brush of Marianne’s skin sends a spark up Hilda’s arm. Marianne apologizes softly and steps aside, walking ahead of Hilda to not get in her way. Hilda frowns, watching Marianne’s advancing form slip further away from her, but continues through the house silently. 

The next house is met with more than a few noises of complaint. 

“Oh, fuck. I hate clowns,” Hilda groans, looking up at the pinstriped tent in revulsion. 

“Don’t we all,” Leonie agrees. “Well, here goes!”

Marianne and Leonie lead the way, and Hilda gives Lysithea an apologetic glance. Hilda agrees to lead Lysithea with a hand on her back so she can keep her eyes closed the entire way. At some point Leonie peeks back at them and sees Hilda’s disappointed expression, noting that Hilda’s gaze is cast directly ahead of them where Marianne was strolling along, unbothered.

“Oh, Lys. Come here.” Leonie takes Lysithea by the arm, intentionally slowing them both down while Hilda continues a few steps ahead. When she looks back questioningly Leonie says, “I’ll lead her, you go ahead.”

Hilda shrugs and turns back around. She can’t see Marianne anymore, but maybe she could join her if she picked up the pace. Hilda ends up jogging a few meters and catches sight of her just around the corner. “Marianne!” 

They’re almost at the end of the third house when Marianne turns to her name being called and it’s to see Hilda catching up to her. Hilda shoots Marianne her usual confident grin as she joins Marianne at her side, but Marianne can see she’s jumpy and nervous. Hilda squints as they pass a dark area only lit by strobe lights that flash over fog. Hilda loses her footing, reaching out instinctively when she feels herself falter. Marianne freezes when she feels something warm enter her palm and looks down to see Hilda’s hand in hers, their fingers laced together tightly. She looks at Hilda’s face, who jumps again at the sound of eerie laughter and wedges herself closer into Marianne’s side. Marianne hasn’t moved from her spot as Hilda’s hand tightens in hers. Hilda doesn’t register the lack of movement until she peers up to meet Marianne’s eyes.

“O-oh, sorry!” Hilda says. Despite the apology, Hilda’s hand stays intertwined with Marianne’s like she’s waiting for Marianne to say something or pull her hand back. Marianne doesn’t, and turns to lead them the rest of the way through the house. When the sound of a chainsaw resonates through the speakers Hilda’s hand nearly crushes hers, but she relaxes her grip shortly after.

When they make it to the exit, Hilda steps away from Marianne, her hand loosening its grip and dropping to her side altogether. She doesn’t meet Marianne’s eyes as they walk along to the next house. 

The last one looks like an old abandoned, dusty, but otherwise ordinary home. In the front room a woman in a nurse’s outfit stands next to a medical bed. She appears to be entirely motionless, but Marianne knows better than to underestimate a perfect opportunity for a jump scare. 

Marianne is surprised when Hilda’s hand slides into hers as they near the woman’s form, and as expected, she pops up and says her line. Neither of the two jump and they continue through the path, Hilda holding onto Marianne’s hand the entire way through.

They only separate after they reach the end and Hilda agrees to go with Lysithea to the bathroom. Leonie yells after them to meet back at the food stands when they’re done and Lysithea waves her hand in acknowledgement.

“Still think you're not special?” Leonie says lowly at Marianne’s ear when the two are out of listening distance.

“W-what? You mean that?” Marianne sputters, motioning toward the house they’d just exited. “She would have done that with anyone!” Marianne says. Leonie rolls her eyes at her poor excuses, and continues ahead to find a spot for them to sit. 

“Yeah, but did she?” Leonie looks across at her pointedly when they find a clear table. 

Marianne can’t explain that so she keeps her lips pursed in thought. Hilda and Lysithea arrive at the table and Lysithea grabs Hilda’s arm before she can sit down. “Can you get me a funnel cake, Hilda?” Lysithea puts on her biggest pout but it’s to no avail.

“Get it yourself, shorty,” Hilda teases, placing an elbow on top of her head to emphasize how small she actually is. “You can watch me eat one, though.”

“Okay, meanie! You don’t have to be so rude!” Lysithea shoves at Hilda’s arm and the taller pulls back, walking away to get in line, laughter shaking her shoulders as she leaves. 

“See what I mean, Marianne?” Lysithea crosses her arms and pouts. “Can you ask her for me, please?”

Leonie’s chortle of a laugh goes ignored and Marianne frowns. “I’m not doing that, Lysithea. And can you give it a rest, Leonie?” Marianne scoffs and places a bill on the table. “Here, get one for yourself.”

Lysithea’s whines are quickly dispelled and she scoops up the money, running in Hilda’s direction. 

Leonie watches as Marianne leans back in her seat, picking at her nails anxiously. “Hey, I’m sorry. I’ll stop.”

Marianne drops her hand with a small sigh. “You’re okay Leonie. It’s just… I have a lot to think about.”

Marianne lets her gaze slip over to Hilda standing in line as she teases Lysithea. The spaces between her fingers still tingle with warmth.  
  


* * *

Marianne knows she must be acting weird but she hasn’t been able to stop thinking about that night. She’s since stopped feeling that sensation in her hands, but its been replaced by thoughts of Hilda touching her, smiling at her, being close to her. 

Even now, what would normally be a casual afternoon watching tv downstairs, she’s reminded of how much she wants to kiss Hilda as she plays with the straw of her drink, fully absorbed in the show they were watching. That makes one of them.

Whenever Hilda shifts her weight or leans forward, Marianne wants to jump out of her skin or reach over and pin her down. She’s not sure which is more likely to happen, but Marianne hopes her body is stronger than her thoughts and that the nails pressed into her palm are enough to hold her back. 

Marianne’s thoughts wander to what Lysithea and Leonie were trying to tell her that day. That Hilda does anything to make Marianne happy. That she likes Marianne, even. It couldn’t be true… but she figures it wouldn’t hurt to test it out herself. Hilda’s right next to her, sitting as lazy as ever when Marianne speaks. 

“H-hey, Hilda…” Hilda looks over at Marianne, her eyes expectant. “Uh, can you make me some cocoa?” Marianne expects any kind of excuse to keep from getting up, but Hilda pops right out of her seat.

“Sure! You want marshmallows?” Marianne blinks in disbelief. 

“Yes, lots.” Marianne stares after her as she walks into the kitchen, apprehensive. 

“Alright, coming right up!”

It takes her a while, and Marianne can hear her shuffling and humming in the kitchen. Marianne pulls out her phone in the meantime. Her thumb lingers over her messenger app before anything else, probably because it was what she would usually go straight to every morning. Marianne realizes she hadn’t messaged her old friend slash crush for a while, and she has a feeling she knows exactly why.  


How have you been? Sorry i’ve been so MIA 

  
When Marianne hits send she notices that Hilda’s phone buzzes and lights up right after. That was… kind of weird. Marianne knows it couldn’t be possible, but on the slight chance it was what she was thinking, she sends another message.  


kinda been swamped with things and all 

  
Hilda’s phone vibrates almost instantly and the screen lights up once again. There’s no way that could happen two times in a row.

Marianne picks up Hilda’s phone to confirm her suspicions and there were two new message notifications at the top of the screen.

_No way…_

“Okay, Mari! I kinda dumped the rest of the bag of marshmallows in, but I didn’t think…” Hilda stops and notices Marianne’s expression. She looks down to see the phones in Marianne’s hands. “I…” Hilda cant meet Marianne’s eyes and that confirms everything for her.

“So it _was_ you? You _knew_?”

Hilda lets out a shaky breath, _this isn’t happening_. “I know, it looks really bad. I kinda found out the day Holst was here, and I just… I didn’t know what to say.”

“You could have told me at some point!” Marianne holds her hands up in exasperation. “I told you I liked you.. You.. I was actually hurt, Hilda. Do you get that?”

“Marianne... I-I know.” Hilda’s grip tightens on the cocoa-filled mug and it’s burning hot in her hand but she hardly notices it. “I wanted to tell you but… You wouldn't have given me a chance. You barely talked to me… I just—”

“And now do you see why?” Marianne glares and Hilda shrinks back.

“I’m sorry, Marianne... I…” Hilda trails off when she realizes she doesn’t even know what to say. That she doubted her? Planned to manipulate her? Lied to her?

Marianne sighs when Hilda stays silent and gets up from the couch.

“Hey! Marianne! Hey!!” Hilda barely has time to set the mug on the coffee table before Marianne is storming up the stairs.

Hilda can tell what Marianne is planning so she takes off in a full sprint and beats her to the bedroom door. Marianne sighs forcefully, but she doesn’t stop her motions. Marianne pushes her hands out to shove past Hilda and get into her room but Hilda braces herself with both arms, clinging to the doorway. Marianne pulls back her arms, crossing them in front of her. 

“Get out of my way.” Marianne makes her gaze hard and meets Hilda’s eyes, finally.

“Don’t use that face on me,” Hilda scoffs, and she wants to massage down the frown lines on Marianne's forehead but she keeps her hands where they are. “Can you just talk to me?”

“No, Hilda. I want you to move.” Hilda stays motionless so Marianne sighs. “Please.”

Hilda presses her mouth into a flat line. “Fine, I’ll let you in. But I’m not gonna leave you alone.”

“Whatever, Hilda. Now just get out of my way.” Marianne sighs, stomping her foot impatiently. Hilda’s grasp loosens but her arms stay suspended. 

“Wait. I want you to answer my question first.” If she still had something to hold over Marianne she’d use it for all she could.

Marianne digs the heel of her hand into her head, in anticipation for the oncoming headache, but her voice is even when she asks, “What?”

“Does knowing who I am really change the way you feel?”

Marianne hadn't stopped to think about it. She did have genuine feelings for her online friend, who she thought she was anyway. And now that Marianne knows she was Hilda, does that mean she had a crush on Hilda the entire time? Marianne doesn't know if she would have ever admitted it to Hilda's face otherwise, but she kind of always was undeniably attracted to her roommate. 

Marianne doesn't remember what she's mad about anymore when she looks up into Hilda's pleading eyes. It makes sense now. The times that Hilda was unbearably silent, refusing to meet her eyes, the tentative hand-holding. The messages... Hilda has been into her for a while now.

Marianne takes a mechanical step forward, and she doesn't even notice she's doing it. Marianne's hands reach out and hold the sides of Hilda's face and then she's kissing her. It's slow and fast and rough and soft all at the same time. Hilda's numbing limbs drop from the wall and pull Marianne closer, stumbling their way backward into their room, and Hilda feels around for the door, shutting it firmly along the way. 

Marianne's back hits the door with a thud as it closes and Hilda uses it for purchase as she cages Marianne between her arms. The press of Hilda’s chest against hers reminds Marianne of something she;s been thinking about since the day they met. 

Hilda never thought Marianne was capable of such a thing, but Marianne's hands move down to trace the outline of Hilda's hips through her clothes and Hilda's shirt is over her head and on the floor before she realizes what happened. Marianne replaces the press of her clothing with the heat of her hands, her lips pressing bruisingly against Hilda's mouth as her fingers roam along her stomach. She hooks a finger in Hilda's pants teasingly and Hilda's breath is a sharp intake of air. Marianne leaves her lips to nip at the skin on Hilda's neck.

Hilda thinks Marianne must be out of surprises by now, but her mouth is on the shell of Hilda's ear when she whispers, “I've wanted to do this for so long.” Hilda instinctively opens her mouth to ask what she means and gets her answer when Marianne's lips are trailing down her chest. 

“Y-you’re telling me… I've w-wanted to get into your bed since that last time.”

Marianne laughs against her before her mouth closes against Hilda’s chest, pulling the skin between her teeth. Hilda has a handful of Marianne's hair trapped in her fist as Marianne sucks a bruise right on the line of her bra. 

“Tell me more,” Marianne murmurs, and pulls back to look into Hilda’s eyes. Hilda opens her mouth to continue but she feels the cool air hit her as her bra is stripped away, and Marianne's lips are hot and closed around a nipple. All that comes out is a high-pitched whine.

“M-marianne...”

Suddenly Marianne pulls away and Hilda makes a noise of complaint, attempting to pull Marianne back by her collar.

Marianne eyes the hands holding her shirt and meets Hilda’s gaze. “You were saying something about a bed?”

Hilda pulls Marianne into her arms, carrying her further into the room, and she can’t believe this is happening as she lowers Marianne onto her back in her bed. 

She tugs at Marianne’s shirt, lifting it over her head and Hilda’s lips aim for every part of her chest and stomach as it’s revealed, coating her body in sloppy kisses and bites. Marianne throws the material behind her when she’s free of its restriction, and a grateful whine leaves her mouth when Hilda reaches for her bra next. Hilda sucks on her neck while she slides the clasps apart, pulling it away as Marianne raises her arms and it ends up falling off the edge of the bed to be forgotten. 

Hilda returns, filling the space between Marianne’s jaw and shoulder as she leans Marianne back down onto the sheets. Marianne moans long and breathy, as Hilda sucks at her skin with no intention of releasing it, and Marianne knows it’s going to be an embarrassing bright red spot on her neck later but she can’t seem to care about that now. Not enough to stop her, at least.

When Hilda has Marianne whining into the back of her hand and nails biting into Hilda’s shoulder, she realizes that her roommate needs some relief. Hilda hikes one of Marianne’s legs over her arm and slides her down by her hips. When Marianne can’t get any closer, Hilda pushes her hips into her, grinding down against Marianne. Marianne gasps and Hilda’s mouth leaves her neck to swallow her moans, using the gap between her lips to push her tongue into Marianne's mouth. Marianne meets the strokes of Hilda’s tongue and pushes her hips up against Hilda desperately. A groan leaves Hilda’s mouth that melts against Marianne’s tongue and Marianne accepts it eagerly, pressing a palm onto Hilda’s ass to force her even closer. 

Hilda’s going to lose her mind at this rate, with Marianne threatening to tear her apart in search of more friction, not that she would mind it too much. Hilda moves to support her weight against the bed with one hand and disentangles the other from the sheets, running it experimentally down Marianne’s side. Marianne’s breath hitches against her lips when Hilda traces the shape of Marianne’s hip-bone, and she wants to leave a mark there too but forgoes it because there’d be time for that later. 

Hilda’s hand moves lower, fingers slipping under the waistband of Marianne’s pants, and Marianne’s nails against her shoulder still momentarily, and go back to digging in even harder as Hilda’s hand shifts into her underwear. Hilda’s touch is delicate and careful, like she’s trying to memorize the moment rather than give Marianne what she wants and it’s frustrating. Marianne turns her head into the bedsheets and suppresses a moan against her arm. Hilda’s mouth brushes past Marianne’s cheek and down her throat, feeling Marianne swallow against her open lips as she flicks her tongue out and tastes her. 

“Hilda, please…”

Marianne lifts trembling fingers to brush Hilda’s hair back as she meets her gaze. Hilda nods, and her hand in Marianne’s pants feels around for her opening and drags her wetness up along her throbbing clit. Marianne tosses her head back and cries out in pleasure, giving Hilda free reign to continue leaving bruises under her jaw, and she does so happily.

“Oh, s-shit Hilda…” 

Hilda hums against Marianne questioningly, circling her fingertips against her clit and Marianne whines. “Don’t stop,” Marianne says between moans and Hilda obliges, her hand moving faster. Marianne doesn't know what she wants anymore, doesn't know what she's saying aside from Hilda's name, but she knows only Hilda can give her what she's seeking. 

Hilda can tell Marianne’s getting closer and she slows her fingers, dropping them lower to work them into Marianne slowly. First it's a hesitant press of the tips that circle around her dripping entrance. Marianne holds a breath in anticipation as Hilda pushes two fingers forward, brushing them along Marianne’s walls carefully. Hilda pulls her fingers back to repeat the motion in a slow thrust and Marianne moans low in her throat. Hilda's eyes flit up to watch Marianne's face and she’s met with Marianne’s eyes already trained on her. Hilda smiles, and she instinctively wants to shy away from the heavy eye contact but she ignores it momentarily to hold Marianne’s gaze. 

“Kiss me,” Marianne whispers, and Hilda lowers her head, pressing her mouth to Marianne’s. Marianne holds Hilda's face in her hands, brushing her skin in adoration while Hilda works her fingers between them. 

Hilda flexes her fingers slightly and Marianne cries out, “Right there!”

Hilda groans and is determined to keep hitting that spot, and Marianne's noises let her know that she's still in the right place as she pushes her fingers in deeper each time she pulls them out of Marianne's heat. Marianne’s cries quicken and her hips lift up as Hilda thrusts and stretches her fingers inside of her, rolling in time with Hilda’s motions. Hilda senses she's close and pushes through with an aching wrist as Marianne’s release hits her.

Hilda’s lips linger on Marianne's cheeks, nose, eyes and finally close against her lips as Marianne moans loudly, shaking against Hilda as she fingers her through her orgasm. Marianne twitches, finally spent and elated when Hilda pulls her hand away. Hilda’s still kissing her and Marianne sighs against her lips through her aftershocks, gripping Hilda’s back to keep her close.

When she feels Hilda start to pull back Marianne opens her eyes, a pout forming on her lips until she sees why. Staring directly into Marianne’s eyes, Hilda lowers her mouth over her first two fingers and sucks them gently with a sultry moan. Marianne’s mouth falls open and the next moment she’s pressing Hilda down against the bed. 

Marianne holds Hilda's hands at the side of her head with a loose grip and leans down to run her tongue along Hilda's chest, flicking it at Hilda's raised nipple. Hilda whines as she watches Marianne’s mouth move up and down, her tongue dripping wet and hot breath fanning against her skin. One of Marianne’s hands leaves Hilda’s to tease her other breast, alternating between lightly pinching at her nipple and soothing it with delicate touches.

Hilda leans back into the mattress, impatiently seeking release as she wraps her legs around Marianne and ruts her hips against her. Marianne gets the idea and puts her weight onto her knees and separates her legs to spread Hilda’s wider, settling herself between Hilda’s thighs. Marianne grinds up and down against her, the motions matching the strokes of her tongue.

Hilda moans appreciatively, one hand flying up to Marianne's hair and she places the other against Marianne’s chest, cupping her breast and stroking her hand rhythmically while she rocks against Marianne. When Hilda whines for Marianne to go faster, fuck her harder, Marianne is eager to comply. 

“Oh, fuck. Marianne… I'm gonna come like this,” Hilda says, panting. Marianne breaks away from Hilda's chest and kisses her hard, working her tongue into Hilda’s mouth and swallowing down her moans. When Marianne breaks away to catch her breath, she's still grinding against Hilda as she considers what she wants to do next. 

“Hilda… I-I want to taste you.”

Hilda's eyes widen. “Holy shit, Marianne... O-okay, just do it before I…”

Marianne nods and lifts off of Hilda. She presses back on her heels and unbuttons Hilda's jeans, and when she spares a glance at Hilda, her needy gaze has Marianne all but tearing her pants as she works them off her legs. Hilda helps to kick them off and eagerly hooks her fingers in her underwear next, shimmying them down her thighs where Marianne meets her and slides them off the rest of the way.

When Hilda’s leaning back on her elbows, pink hair fanned out onto Marianne’s pillows, and teeth dragging on her lower lip, Marianne hovers above her and almost forgets how to breathe.

“What?” Hilda says, shifting unconsciously under Marianne’s stare. Marianne lowers a hand to Hilda’s leg and keeps it still. 

“You’re so beautiful,” Marianne says, dipping down to place a kiss onto the skin of Hilda's knee. She moves her lips to Hilda's inner knee to kiss her again, then presses her lips along the length of her thigh. Hilda drops her head back onto the bed and sighs, a hand weaving its way into Marianne's hair and massaging her scalp tenderly, easing her head forward ever so slightly to indicate where she wanted Marianne to go.

Marianne lets Hilda guide her forward and a gasp leaves Hilda’s lips when Marianne’s lips close around her clit. Marianne’s hands move to Hilda's inner thighs, pressing down lightly to keep Hilda’s legs from closing on her and she flicks her tongue against Hilda, sucking lightly. A high pitched whine leaves Hilda’s mouth as her legs drop open and Marianne moves her hand to massage Hilda’s thigh before moving toward her entrance. Marianne traces a finger from her clit down to where her core is dripping onto Marianne's sheets and Marianne makes sure Hilda is looking when she cleans her finger with her mouth. 

“So unfair,” Hilda whines, and Marianne shoots her a smile before dipping her head back down for another taste. Marianne flattens her tongue against Hilda’s entrance and drags it up, moaning around her clit as Hilda mutters incoherent praises. Marianne works her tongue between Hilda’s lips, getting them so wet that their combined fluids soak the mattress beneath her.

Hilda’s thighs tremble under Marianne’s hands as she fucks herself against Marianne’s face, faster and faster as she screams Marianne’s name. 

“Marianne… Marianne, oh!”

When Hilda's cumming, Marianne pushes her tongue into Hilda and fucks her with it as her tightening and throbbing walls close around Marianne’s tongue. When she comes down, Hilda scrambles to push Marianne’s greedy mouth away and drags her face up for a sloppy kiss.

Later, they’re both tucked into Marianne’s blankets and Hilda traces undefined shapes against Marianne’s skin as she lays her head against Marianne’s chest.

“I didn’t tell you, clearly, but I missed it too,” Marianne says.

“Missed what?” Hilda angles her head upward to look at Marianne.

“Sharing a bed,” Marianne ducks her head sheepishly. “I mean, this is different, for obvious reasons, but…”

Hilda scoots up onto her elbows and Marianne meets her as she leans up to kiss Marianne's lips.

When Hilda pulls back she stares at Marianne for a moment before she makes a noise of irritation, air puffing out of her nose. “Okay but do you realize how frustrated I was, laying over there while you were texting me like a little perv?”

“I'm the little perv?” Marianne rears her head back in offense. “_You_ were the one sitting there with a dirty little secret you didn't need to keep. Maybe we would have been doing this sooner if you didn't keep that from me.”

“Oh? You think so?”

“Yeah. I do.”

Marianne meets her gaze in a challenge and Hilda responds by wrapping her arms around Marianne and fitting her lips against hers again.

When the two finally hop out of bed to find their clothes, they rush downstairs to ask Leonie who she bets would have admitted their feelings first if Hilda had told Marianne from the start. Leonie says it would obviously be Hilda, if Marianne wasn't currently standing behind her giving Leonie a death glare.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> [Here ](https://twitter.com/armorgf/status/1170805504932581376?s=19) are some silly doodles for this fic bc i was thinking about it non-stop for a week or two. that’s also my twitter account so feel free to follow or interact! i have a lot of feelings over this fic and i can talk about marihilda all day😭😭😭😭  
thank you for reading! and not to be thirsty but i love your amazing comments so keep doing that 💖💖💖💖💖💖


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